We took our kayaks and paddled in the serene waters of the Laguna Madre between the barrier island of Padre Island and the Texas mainland. No surf, light winds and smooth waters. It was a beautiful day.

Fog in the desert is by nature, temporary and elusive. This is the Window trail in the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. By the time we actually got to the window, which is a gap in the rock where water from the basin drains, all trace of fog was gone.

Ok, I work at Walmart and it’s not exactly a glamorous job. Most times, not a rewarding job. Most of the time it’s just fixing things the overnight stockers got wrong and telling people what they want is either right here behind me or two aisles over or we don’t have it anymore. Some people come in with the attitude that nothing they want will be there and nothing will make them happy.
And then there’s the little happy surprises. And they seem to come from either old people or little kids.

I have worked at this store long enough to watch kids grow up and people grow old. The middle ages don’t change that much but both ends do. I have seen awkward kids grow into confident young adults. I have also seen some of my favorite older people slow down, start using canes and disappear.

I started out in the photo lab where you really get to see where people live, their vacations and holiday gatherings. You see babies born, start school, where people go on vacation. It gives you a window on people’s lives. Well, digital took over photography and photo labs disappeared. I lost my career there. I miss that a lot.

Life is what it is.

Now, I work keeping things stocked, putting it on the shelf where customers can buy it and helping people find things. And sometimes you still get to connect with people.

My very favorite customer is a blind woman who simply needs someone to walk her around the store and help her select groceries. I have been doing this so long, we have gotten to be good friends. We have fun talking about cooking and food and I have introduced her to new things available in the store we both like. A few years ago, she got a fabulous guide dog named Wella who is now one of my best friends too.

Sometimes you just get used to seeing a face around and have an extra smile for that person. I never seem to learn their names but there is this one old man who reminds me of my dad and he always talks to me and teases me about something. I always have a hug for him.

Sometimes I have to sit on the floor to straighten things or stock things and it never fails, some old person will say something about “sitting down on the job”. There’s a couple of them I have a running joke with about whether I’m sitting on the floor or not. We both get a laugh out of it.

Then there’s the little kids. I like to smile and wave at the babies and I often get a charming smile in return.

Yesterday, I was stocking things and as usual, I dropped one. This little boy came over, picked it up and handed it to me. I thanked him and told him he was sweet to do that. Hey, positive reinforcement can’t start too early. He might have been 4. He showed me his hot wheels car which was one of the characters from the movie Cars and I went along. A few minutes later, his mom was asking me where something was and almost before I could answer, he ran over to me and wrapped both arms around my knees and gave me a big hug. It was the sweetest moment.